Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto-sensei.
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The sound of footsteps and unintelligible chatter reverberated across a crowded hallway even though the sun had not fully risen yet. From the conventional outlook, perhaps it was too early for such bustling activity with which to start the day off. Yet, it was a normal routine for the Department of Torture and Interrogation.
Two men, in particular, understood perfectly the demanding lifestyle their job entailed. Though that didn't stop one of them to let out a yawn, making the other one chuckled in amusement as the two made their way to their office.
"Inoichi-san, if I'm not wrong, today is the last day of the second part of the Chūnin exam. How is your daughter doing? Has she passed yet?" asked a man garbed in a light colored trench coat.
"Hajime-san," Inoichi greeted in kind. "I haven't heard from her yet. Hopefully her team make it to the tower."
"Let's hope she won't crack. She's the daughter of the clan head of the mind walkers after all."
"Indeed." Inoichi merely grunted in agreement. As much as he loved his daughter and only wanted the best for her, he understood very well that any form of expectation was inevitable. Pressure and scrutiny were always going to be parts of her life as a shinobi, being one from a well-known clan no less. "I hope her mental is strong. Like this guy we're dealing with."
"I know, right?!" Hajime exclaimed aloud, sighing in frustration. "Man, it's been two days but we haven't even got one word from him."
"He's in Root for a reason." Inoichi uttered with a frown on his face. His success rate on breaking previous captured Root agents had been lackluster, and the Head of Yamanaka clan wasn't particularly happy about it.
Every time he nearly broke through the mental block, they would always manage to sabotage the mind infiltration in time to activate their self-destruct seal. And they always woke up on the third day. Unfortunately, today was the second day, so he potentially had only one day left to work with. At this point, he would be lucky if he were to get anything at all.
"Those tricky bastards." Hajime shook his head as the two men stopped in front of a white metal door. "Well, good luck, sir. Ibiki-san is waiting inside." They shared a nod before Inoichi entered the room.
The room was shrouded in darkness with just a light bulb being the only source of light. A man dressed in similar trench coat was standing in the middle of the room, reading his portfolio. His towering stature, scarred countenance and a tray full of tools strained with blood made for an intimidating sight.
Next to him was the prisoner who was strapped with layers of restriction clothes, empowered by chakra-blocking seals. He seemed to be unconscious as his head slumped down and only his chest was moving.
"Have you got anything yet? Otherwise, we may have to use the mind reading amplification machine on him." asked Inoichi as he reached for his chair and positioned it directly in front of his prisoner, skipping the usual spare talk. After working together for years, the Yamanaka clan head knew Ibiki was never one for small talks anyway. Plus, time was of the essence here. He didn't want to fail this case again, and he knew the other man in the room was on the same page.
"Beast. That's the word he uttered," replied Ibiki, putting away the file in his hand. Dropping his latex gloves on the tray, the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force headed for the light switch and turned it on. "And he seemed awfully... scared when he said that word."
"Did you use the new serum?"
"Yes. Worked like a charm. Didn't need much convincing." Ibiki replied, crossing his arms as he recounted the earlier questioning session. "I showed him a picture of the late Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields then he started murmuring nonsense."
"I see. And he was scared, you say." Inoichi narrowed his eyes as his mind picked up gear. During the previous attempts, he had only targeted the feelings of guilt and remorse.
Every person had regrets at some point in their life, and such pocket of memories could be triggered and reached if the right buttons were pushed. Apparently, that was not the case for shinobi who were trained to completely cut off emotion, hence Inoichi's failure in breaking them.
However, this time could be different. This Root agent was scared of something. He must have been so scared that his emotional barrier cracked open. Fear had conquered his mind. It must have been something so traumatic. Maybe it was an event, or even a person. He mentioned a beast, so that could likely be the latter.
Putting his right hand on the boy's forehead, Inoichi closed his eyes and prepared his jutsu. "Psycho Mind Transmission!"
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He quickly opened his eyes and immediately felt the sensation of him in free fall. A few seconds passed before he landed on the grassy ground, but there was no impact whatsoever. Disorientation set in as Inoichi looked around and found himself standing in the middle of an old village. A burning village.
His eyebrows burrowed. This wasn't supposed to happen. He should be arriving at the center of his prisoner's subconscious where he then would go through and extract valuable intel. What was this place? Did he miscalculate something?
There was fire all around him and the sound of screaming. Screeches of pain howled as unfortunate men and women were being slain.
A dozen of cloaked figures were mercilessly cutting down the survivors from the fire. Inoichi then looked down at himself and noticed the similarity in their dressing. Now he realized he was in a memory of his prisoner, living vicariously through the moment that had set fear in his heart.
Before long, something else caught his attention. One cloaked Root agent was raising her tanto, readying for another strike. But it never came; what came instead was that hand dropping down on the ground, cleanly chopped off. She staggered back, having lost a hand, and let loose a stifled scream.
Then every Root agent there stopped in their track and turned their heads at the scene, surprised by the turn of event. To everyone's shock, the assailant was from their own faction, donning in the same black cloak.
An infighting? Rebellion?
Inoichi's eyes widened in shock at the prospect of insubordination within the rank of the infamous absolute-obedience Root. Then in the midst of confusion, he felt an immense pressure in the air. A killing intent, so thick and suffocating that it froze every person on sight, including him as well.
Then came a growl so feral that chills rose up his spines. His instinct begged him to run away, but he couldn't move an inch; his heart beat quickened as fear filled his mind. But he reminded himself that it was just him looking through his host's eyes. Everything he was feeling right now was what his prisoner had felt in this memory.
It was just a memory. I was merely a viewer.
Taking a deep breath, Inoichi calmed his mind to continue observing the memory. He turned his sight on the assailant yet couldn't get a full view as he was facing his back. Nonetheless, he kept silent, expecting a fight to break out. But no one moved. Everything came to a standstill, except the flame that was ravaging the wooden houses.
"You shouldn't be here. You aren't supposed to be here," said the assailant. Inoichi narrowed his eyes, confused at whom was that referred to. What?
Then the assailant said it again, "You shouldn't be here. You aren't supposed to be here."
Inoichi looked around, starting to panic. The assailant repeated it again, and again, and again. The situation was beginning to get weirder and weirder. Much to his shock, every person there started to turn their head in his direction. Even the dead rose up and stared at him. Then they too chanted the same statement with their distorted grating voices.
"You shouldn't be here. You aren't supposed to be here."
Inoichi gulped nervously, dumbfounded by the situation he was in. He was supposed to be incognito, since technically he wasn't there. So how was his presence noticed? Was there a hidden trigger that he had missed? What is happening?
"You shouldn't be here! You aren't supposed to be here!" The chant was getting louder and more aggressive.
He started to break into a sweat when they all slowly advanced towards him. He reactively backed away until his back unfortunately hit a random wooden pole. Now surrounded, Inoichi racked his brain, trying to make sense of what was happening.
All of a sudden, the chanting stopped. The only sound heard was his ragged breath. Finally, the assailant turned around, facing Inoichi, allowing the mind reader to get the frontal view of this mysterious figure. The Yamanaka clan head gasped in shock as a pair of red eyes shone through the eyeholes.
But that was the last thing he saw before he was pulled away by an unknown force. He flew back quickly through a dark tunnel, getting further and further away from the scene until he crashed down onto his chair back in the real world.
"What did you see?" asked Ibiki, raising his eyebrows, surprised at a messed up state his colleague was in as Inoichi was panting heavily and sweating profusely. "Inoichi-san?"
"I don't understand." Inoichi mumbled to himself, talking between his breaths, still wondering what the hell just happened.
"What did you say?"
"I was sent directly to one of his memories, possibly during a mission. But it was chaos. I couldn't quite get it."
"So another failure?" Ibiki said, frowning in frustration as he handed his colleague a glass of water.
"Not quite. It seems that there must have been a mental block somewhere we didn't account for. But it was unlike something I've ever seen before. 'Definitely not what Root usually use."
The Head of T&I department crossed his arms as he listened to Inoichi's explanation. "I see. Then tell me exactly what transpired. Don't leave anything out."
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Hmm. Flame pattern... That's different from those guys' back at that base. Rat thought, sitting on a tree branch and blending in with his surroundings by using Tōton Jutsu (Transparent Escape Technique).
Currently, he was watching the newly invigorated Uchiha boy standing up with waves of purple chakra spiraling upwards around him and the black-turned-orange flame-like pattern of his curse mark spreading, covering the left side of his body.
The power boost the boy had was closely similar to those ninja Rat had fought back then, except that their cognitive function was limited whereas the Uchiha boy could still retain his self-consciousness. That was an interesting finding to Rat, since Anko had never talked about her mark and what it could do to anyone.
Rat then shifted his eyes toward another Konoha Genin team who were hiding behind a nearby giant tree. He shook his head in disappointment. Avoiding unwinnable fights was smart. Hiding to secure advantageous positions for ambush was cunning. But hiding while watching only to do nothing was cowardly in his book. They might have been competing in the exam, but to disregard one's village comrades for own's safety was such a scumbag move.
Fights were imminent either way in their current situation. Then, wouldn't it be better to unite now and work together while they outnumbered the Sound team?
The standing by Konoha team seemed hesitant to help the beaten up pink-haired girl from the Uchiha's team although there was a boy with an almost exact copy outfit of Dog's rival, Gai, trying to help her only to be blown away by the Sound shinobi's wind jutsu.
Rat sweatdropped. That must be Gai's student, huh? I can't believe someone wants to wear that.
Anyway, it was unsuccessful, but at least he tried. A valiant act that Rat could respect. Now there was a surprise look on each of the hiding Konoha Genin's face when the Uchiha boy woke up and basically decimated the Sound shinobi, who had just blasted Gai's student earlier, with ease. Rat himself admitted that really was a spectacle to watch.
At that state, the cursed Uchiha could give any Chūnin a run for their money. Too bad, it was borrowed. There had got to be a trade in exchange for that power. Rat learned that the hard way when he tried to harness the fox's chakra a long time ago. He had nearly lost control and died if precaution hadn't been taken prior to the attempt.
The ANBU was broken out of his thought when the pink-haired girl yelled at her teammate, running and hugging the Uchiha from behind. "Stop! That's enough, Sasuke. Please!"
Sasuke stopped in his track as his mind seemed to come back down from the power high. He then fell down to his knee and grunted in pain, his curse mark receding back to his neck. However, instead of retaliating, the seeming leader of the Sound team surrendered his scroll and retreated with his team.
Rat's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the turn of event. They were initially confident and were showing off their jutsu. But they gave up as soon as they saw the change in the Uchiha's demeanor and power. It was as if they, or at least that Dosu guy, came with that in mind and merely wanted to test the boy and nothing more.
The ANBU contemplated whether to follow the Sound team or stay and monitor the Uchiha's condition. Obviously, the boy's curse mark needed to be sealed off, but Rat couldn't do that now as it would be considered outside interference.
And if the Sound team already knew about the curse mark, then there was a high chance that they were returning to meet up with Orochimaru to report the situation.
Taking one last look at the Uchiha and the pink-haired girl, he noticed that the Genin team, who had been hiding, finally came out to check up on their comrades. Disappointment. Rat snorted before heading toward the retreating Sound team's direction.
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Kurotsuchi took a long intake of breath and sighed in content at the smell of the appetizing beef stew that Machi was cooking. "Oh my god. It smells so good!"
"Of course it does. This is my special dish after all," Machi chuckled, amused by the funny face the Iwa girl made. She stirred the stew a couple times before scooping it up and pouring into two bowls. "Alright. It's ready."
"Let me take'em." Kurotsuchi took the bowls then walked excitedly with bouncing steps to the table, followed by Machi who was moving more slowly.
"How is it?" The pregnant ex-Chūnin asked as her guest was devouring her food.
Gulping down a huge piece of cooked potato, Kurotsuchi answered, "This is amazing! The best stew I've ever had."
Machi smiled lovingly after hearing that the girl was satisfied with the food. "I'm glad you like it. You know, Na-uh- Rat likes this stew too. If I remember correctly, it's his second most favorite dish. Ramen is his first, of course."
"Really?" Kurotsuchi uttered in fascination before thinking to herself for a moment. "Can you teach me how to make it?"
"Why not? I'm happy to share my recipe with you." Machi nodded before asking, "Do you know how to cook?"
To which the Iwa girl grinned sheepishly, shaking her head. "It's okay. You can still learn. So, why do you want to learn how to make it? Because I believe that food will be delicious only when you cook it with love." Machi just smiled before cheekily asked, "Do you want to make it for someone special?"
"Wh-what? No!" Kurotsuchi abruptly retorted, but her face was blushing at the unexpected question. "I just thought I don't have much to do anyway, so I might as well learn it now. Y-yeah, that's it."
"Right." Machi laughed it off seeing the young girl flustered like that. "Anyway, how has your stay here so far? Has Rat been treating you well?"
"Yeah! Better than I expected thanks to him, I guess," Kurotsuchi replied, setting up her dishes for wash. "We went to a lot of interesting places that I never thought there would be in Konoha."
"I see." Machi nodded, feeling quite relieved at the positive response. She then poured tea into a cup and gave it to Kurotsuchi who gratefully accepted. "I was worried that you weren't going to have a great time here. Because of, you know, a long history that our villages have with each other."
"I understand. In fact, I've learned a lot after coming here. Now I can see that things aren't always the way we were told." said the Iwa kunoichi, taking a sip of her tea before continuing, "People in my village always throw insults whenever Konoha is mentioned. Tree huggers. Hypocrites.Konoha scums. And I know why they would do that; that's why I used to take those words at face value. But these couple weeks have really opened my eyes to a wider perspective."
"That's very mature of you. You're still young, yet you think like an experienced adult." Machi said, complimenting the girl to which she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. That action caused the pregnant woman to laugh, since Rat always liked to do that as well whenever he was embarrassed. "People are people, no matter where they're from. But I believe that they can change. Their mindset can change over time, hopefully for the better."
Kurotsuchi slowly nodded, absorbing the older woman's wisdom as Machi continued, "Call it foolish, but I want everyone to live peacefully with each other. I don't want there to be endless fighting and war. I lost a lot of people around me already, and I personally know how painful that is." She then looked down at her belly, gently rubbing the bulge that was her growing child. "I just want my baby to live in a world where there is peace, where there is no bloodshed, and where there is no losing loved ones prematurely."
"That's a beautiful dream," uttered Kurotsuchi.
"But it seems impossible, right?" Machi softly snorted, thinking of how childish she sounded. Yet, there was hope in her heart, a piece of her mind yearning for that to come true soon.
However, Kurotsuchi remained silent, herself not knowing the answer to that question. Machi continued, "I truly hope that things between our two villages become better. I know that grudge is always there and even justified, to a certain extent. But there is no need for the younger generations to inherit that, right? Let the past be the past, and the present be the bridge to build a better future."
Kurotsuchi's eyes lit up. The granddaughter of the Tsuchikage was deeply captivated by the passion with which Machi described her hopes and dreams. Those words were definitely going to stay in her head for a long time as they resonated resoundingly with such incredible meanings. They evoked a strange yet blissful emotion of excitement for a utopian future, for world peace.
"What is your dream, Kurotsuchi?" asked Machi.
Kurotsuchi opened her mouth, but no word came out. She shockingly found that she didn't have the answer to that question either. She could say she wanted to become the next Tsuchikage, continuing her grandfather's legacy.
But was that really the goal that she had? Ever since she started to her shinobi training, she had been groomed to inherit the mantle of the Earth Shadow. But was that what she had chosen on her own account?
"It's okay if you don't have the answer now. You may stumble upon it as you go about life. But I'm sure it will come when the right time comes." Machi said before standing up with her and Kurotsuchi's bowls in her hands and heading for the sink to wash them. Meanwhile, the pink-eyed girl was staring at her cup of tea while pondering what exactly that she wanted to do in the future.
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Rat leaped from tree branch to tree branch, making sure not to make too much noise on his landing while maintaining his invisibility technique. He had been following the Sound team's trail for almost an hour now. Apparently, his targets seemed to be heading toward a river northeast of the central tower.
Technically, he didn't transgress the exam's rule. He was merely conducting an extra investigation into the possible threat onto his client to clarify his suspicion. Orochimaru had once kidnapped Kurotsuchi, while within her own village no less.
Thus, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't do it again this time. Especially, during a time when the current patrolling shinobi's got their hands full trying to maintain Konoha's security. Yes, that was fully within his mission's parameter, no personal grudge involved whatsoever, to find out where the threat could come from.
In doing so, he was well aware that as soon as he was within a close distance to the Snake Sannin, his presence would be discovered eventually. But he didn't expect to get caught this soon and far behind them.
"Ah congratulations... you've finally found me," Orochimaru uttered aloud, standing in the middle of a clearing, clapping his hands in mockery at Rat's arrival. However, he looked completely different, having tanned skin and green eyes while wearing magenta shirt and pants. At the same time, the Sound team were nowhere to be seen, probably hiding in the surrounding bushes closing off his escape route. "Tell me, how does it make you feel? Do you feel nostalgic, like it reminds you of what happened to your comrade?"
"Shut the fuck up." Rat curtly replied, with gritted teeth. The rustling of the nearby bush confirmed his suspicion of those three's hiding spot.
"Hooo... you've got quite a sharp tongue. I may enjoy ripping that out more than I expected." Orochimaru said, grinning and licking his lips. In a blink of an eye, he dashed and appeared in front of Rat, his arm in midst of swinging a kunai at the ANBU's throat. But he hit a wooden log instead as Rat used substitution jutsu in time to avoid the strike.
"Before I wipe that smirk off of your face, I have some questions to ask. Who gave you the intel on the Tsuchikage's granddaughter's schedule?" asked Rat, now standing on a rock ten meters away from where he was.
Orochimaru's sneer dropped as he raised his eyebrows before opening his mouth wide, from which a snake crawled out and produced a double-edged sword. Grabbing the sword's handle in his right hand, the Snake Sannin asked, "Why do you want to know?"
"Because I don't think you were brave enough to do it without help from the inside." Replied Rat. Intentionally or not, his comment seemed to rile up the Snake summoner as Orochimaru dashed again toward Rat.
The young ANBU performed the set of handseal for a fireball jutsu, but he had to immediately abandon the attempt when the blade of Orochimaru's sword instantly extended and would have pierced him right in the heart if Rat hadn't dodged in time.
After rolling to his left, he had to pull out his sickle to block a follow-up strike to not lose his head. Leaping back to gain some space, Rat almost jumped into an attack of airwaves, over which he somersaulted to avoid getting blown away. At the same time, he now knew where came from and threw a handful of shurikens back at the hiding enemy.
Rat regretted relishing in hitting his enemy when Orochimaru's Kusanagi blade impaled him in the gut. He stifled a scream of pain, grabbing tightly onto the blade before popping him out of existence into a cloud of smoke.
The blade then retracted back to its normal length as Orochimaru stood waiting in the clearing. Grunts of pain were emitted from the surrounding bushes before Rat too stood up, his sickle dripping with blood.
Unbeknownst to the Snake Sannin, Rat had summoned his adamantine chains with two of them in the ground right under Orochimaru, ready to strike from below. "I'm asking you again. Who did you get the information from?"
"Why should I tell you?" Orochimaru asked back with a grin still on his face, unbothered by the death of his subordinates, confident that he would win the fight either way.
"Because your friend, Danzo, had sold you out. He told me where you would be, hoping that we would take each other out." Rat informed the Snake Sannin whose grin turned into a scowl. The blond ANBU then held up the scroll Danzo gave him. "Do you still trust his words?"
"That bastard." Orochimaru growled in simmering rage at the Root's leader's betrayal.
"I've given you an important information. Now answer my question."
The Snake Sannin's arrogance was displayed outwardly yet again, "I'm still not obligated to tell you anything." Rat was about to command his chains to strike when Orochimaru continued, "But fine. I'll play the game you're playing."
Rat narrowed his eyes. Every minute spent with this dangerous criminal, he had to be on guard.
"A guy named Akashi Nobu leaked the intel to me. He's a village elder actually. Ah, the greed of humans. Endless and insatiable."
"I see." Rat uttered, noting down the name in his head. Then his chains immediately erupted from underground and grabbed onto both of Orochimaru's legs. But the Snake Sannin laughed in amusement.
"Foolish child. You're still years away from capturing me." Orochimaru chuckled before swallowing his Kusanagi sword although he failed to notice a strange seal on the blade of the legendary sword. Much to Rat's surprise, the Snake Sannin smoothly morphed into a giant snake, twisting his body out of the grip of the chakra chains.
Rat's eyes widened in shock. The Snake Sannin hissed at the blond ANBU and crawled away at an insane fast pace, disappearing into the forest.
"I'll get you sooner than you think. Just you wait." Those were the words Rat said before body-flickering away as well.